Conspiracy Theory
by pansnymph
Summary: Fin learns about his partner's past, and that there's more truth to Munch's theories than he ever thought. Previously a oneshot. Crossover with The Lone Gunmen. My first SVU story, please review.
1. Of Paperwork and Coffee

**A/N - This is an almost cross-over with The Lone Gunmen. Munch was actually on an episode of X-Files entitled "The Usual Suspects". During that episode he interviewed the Gunmen on an incident involving Agent Mulder. This story is courtesy of my pet "What If?" plot bunny. What if Munch had stayed in contact with the Gunmen? Warning, no beta has read this, proceed at your own risk.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Though I like to pretend that Munch is mine. Please don't ruin my delusion. I'm happier this way ;).**

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Stupid paperwork.

Fin sighed as he surveyed the small mountain of files and papers that adorned his desk. He reached for the cup of coffee that sat on his desk, took a sip and immediately wished he hadn't. He spat the cold, murky liquid back into the cup.

"Liv made that pot. Doesn't have half the shelf life that mine does."

Fin glared at his partner. "Yeah? Well if a certain detective had decided to help his partner out with these reports instead of sitting on his lazy, bony ass," Fin threw an accusatory look Munch's way, "I wouldn't have needed coffee."

Munch looked up from the newspaper he was reading. "Not my fault you decided to go home early the past couple of days." He looked at Fin over the rims of his glasses. "Reap what ye sow." Munch settled back to reading his paper. "Besides, I had to get rides from Huang. Look somewhere else for sympathy."

Fin rolled his eyes, and went to the replace the cup of poisonous java. On his way back, he looked over Munch's shoulder and glanced at the paper his partner was reading.

"'Alien Abductions: Your Tax Dollars at Work,'" Fin read aloud. "What the hell are you reading now, John?"

"An in-depth expose on the secret program whose sole mission is to invade our privacy." Munch pointed at the article in question. "This guy, who is being called "Adam" was taken from his home, wired to a computer, and had his whole life re-written for him, courtesy of a bunch of scientists."

Fin sat back at his desk. "Uh, huh. If it was so damn secret how did," he leaned over to look at the by-line, "Melvin Frohike find out?"

"Apparently "Adam" escaped, and convinced himself that he was a victim of an alien abduction, and contacted the author of this finely written article."

"Finely written article? Wait a minute, Munch. Please don't tell me you know this guy."

"As a matter of fact, I do. I've met all three writers to the _Lone Gunmen_."

"The _Lone Gunmen_? That's the name of the rag you're reading?" Fin took a sip of his fresh coffee. "Why can't you just read the _Examiner_ like anyone else?"

Munch crossed his arms. "For one thing, only about five percent of the stuff you read in the _Examiner_ is true, and then nothing is substantiated. And two," he gestured to the paper, "I know these guys. What they print can be taken as gospel, and they always have proof."

"How the hell do you get proof of a secret government program?"

"Contacts. Usually contacts in various positions in the system."

Fin studied his partner for a minute. Deliberately he said, "Within the system. Like the FBI."

Munch nodded.

"Or the police force."

Munch smiled.

Fin sighed, and pushed the report he had been working on to side. "So," he said, looking at his partner, "you gonna fill me in, or is this I'd-tell-you-but-then-I'd-have-to-kill-you kind of stuff?"

"Nothing like that. But," Munch's grin turned slightly wicked, "how far down the rabbit hole are you willing to go?"

Fin glared at him. "Don't give me that blue pill/red pill crap. Tell me your story or let me get back to my report."

"Fine. It started back when I was still in Baltimore..."

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**A/N - Let me know how you like it. I have a couple of notions on how to continue this, but for right now I'm considering this a one-shot. If I get enough positive feedback, I'll keep going. Cheers!**


	2. Instinct

**A/N- First of all, many thanks to those of you who reviewed the previous chapter. I finally figured out a basic plot line that I like, so I'm gonna give it the ol' college try. Again, I have no beta, and I tend to write really late at night, so if you see anything horrendous that must be corrected, please let me know. Or if you have any critisms/complements, I'll take those too. Cheers.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Law and Order: SVU, the Lone Gunmen, X-Files, Homicide: LotS, or these shows' respective characters. And I promise to put Munch back where I found him, though he'll probably be in need of a nap ;).**

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"It all started when a Jonathon Mueller was killed in a hit and run."

"_A_ Jonathon Mueller?"

"Yeah. That's the name on the official report my partner and I turned in." Munch took a sip of beer. "Of course, that wasn't the vic's real name."

"No kidding." Fin took a sip of his own beer. Realizing his partner's story was likely to take up a good portion of his life, Fin had suggested skiving off work and heading to the squad's favorite watering hole. "So what was his real name?"

"I'll get to that. Most of this stuff I didn't find out until after we had closed the case..."

OoOoOoO

Detective John Munch sat his desk in his apartment in Baltimore. In front of him, reports, pictures and other assorted documents were spread out like so much tarot cards. Munch sighed as he looked over the file for the Mueller case.

Jonathon Mueller had been the victim of a drunk driver. Like so many of these type of deaths, there had been no connection between driver and victim. At least, no obvious connection. Munch frowned. His instincts kept telling him that there was more to this than a simple hit and run, but he couldn't prove it. CSI and the ME had confirmed that Alexander Waters had been intoxicated and had been driving the car. When Waters turned himself in the next day, his blood alcohol level was still over the legal limit. As far as his squad was concerned, it had been open and shut. Mueller was now six feet under, and Waters was serving six to ten.

Munch was starting to think that he'd get more out of tarot cards.

He got up from his desk and went into the kitchen. After rummaging through the cabinets, he pulled out a box of Twining's tea. He heated up a mug of hot water in the microwave and threw the tea bag into the mug. He watched as the tea turned the water a rich brown; the swirls of color expanding outward, the tea getting stronger.

Stronger.

Munch practically ran back to his desk, his tea forgotten. He rifled through the papers until he found the report on Waters' medical exam that had been done upon arrest. He skimmed down until he got to blood/alcohol level. He then looked at the CSI report. Blood had been found in the abandoned car, specifically on the steering wheel. Waters had sustained various cuts on his hands from literally falling down drunk, leaving more than enough blood to do a DNA and an alcohol level test.

Munch compared the two levels. Waters' alcohol level was higher when he turned himself in; nearly ten hours after the accident.

"Well, that's interesting," Munch muttered.

OoOoOoO

"So the guy probably drank to get his courage up," Fin commented. "Or maybe figured he should have one last binge before he turns himself in."

Munch gave his partner a condescending look. "Please. When was the last time that happened? They don't call it a 'Hit and Run' for nothing. Besides, the car had been reported stolen two days ago, so except for the blood, we had no way of tracing the car back to Waters."

Fin leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Then why did this Waters turn himself in?"

"That, my friend, was the million dollar question." Munch took another sip of his beer. "And the more I thought about it, the more I became convinced Waters was setup to take the fall for Mueller's death."

"So there was a connection between the vic and the perp?" Fin asked his partner.

"Yeah, but it took me a while to figure it out." Munch finished off his beer. "In the meantime, I had my first brush with the Gunmen."

"The guys from that paper you were reading."

"The same. At first, they struck me as being a few inches short of the deep end. Byers's story about a framed scientist, government coverups, and dental work with tracking technology seemed so outlandish at the time."

"Uh, huh. Still does," Fin said. He reached for the pitcher and refilled his and Munch's glasses. "So how do these gunmen and Mueller fit together?"

Munch reached for his glass, "The Gunmen were the ones who put me on the right track to finding out the connection between Mueller and Waters."

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**A/N- Yeah, so anyone notice my vaugeness in regards to Baltimore? I haven't had the opportunity to watch Homicide, so instead of getting canon hopelessly wrong, I'm going to fake it as far as references to Munch's squad. Thanks for understanding, and remember, reviews are love. :)**


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